Candice Michelle
Candice Michelle Beckman-Ehrlich (September 30, 1978), better known as Candice Michelle or just Candice, is an American model, actress and former professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment performing on its RAW brand, where she was a former WWE Women's Champion. After spending years modeling and acting, Candice was hired by WWE in 2004, after she participated in the WWE Diva Search. Outside of wrestling, Candice is best known as the Go Daddy Girl, performing in the company's annual Super Bowl commercials. She posed for a cover and nude pictorial in the April 2006 issue of Playboy. On June 24, 2007, she defeated Melina to win her first Women's Championship and become the first former WWE Diva Search contestant to win a WWE title. After five years with WWE, Candice was released from the company in June of 2009. World Wrestling Entertainment Debut and Vince's Devils (2004–2006) In July 2004, Candice auditioned to be a contestant for World Wrestling Entertainment's Raw Diva Search. Despite not being chosen to be in the final ten, she was hired by the company under the gimmick of a makeup artist. She competed on Raw in several Diva contests, including lingerie fashion shows and limbo contests, until the end of the year. On June 30, 2005, Candice was moved to SmackDown! where she became involved in a storyline between Torrie Wilson and Melina. On July 24, Candice made her pay-per-view debut at The Great American Bash where she served as the Special Guest Referee for the Bra and Panties match between Wilson and Melina. Melina would win the match and attack Candice. Torrie & Candice would gain revenge by stripping Melina to her bra & panties. Candice would then strip to her bra and panties for the pleasure of the fans. Candice was then moved back to Raw in a trade along with Wilson. In her next storyline, Candice turned into a villainess along with Torrie when they taunted 2005 Diva Search winner Ashley Massaro, Candice laughed evilly as she and Torrie both attacked Massaro after pretending to congratulate her on winning the Diva Search. The duo joined forces with fellow villainess Victoria to form an alliance known as Ladies in Pink (later Vince's Devils). They continued feuding with Massaro until Trish Stratus returned from a legitimate injury to help Massaro "retaliate" against Vince's Devils. In November, Candice signed on to pose for the April 2006 issue of Playboy. She had her first shot at the WWE Women's Championship in a Fulfill Your Fantasy Battle Royal at Taboo Tuesday but was eliminated from the match by Massaro. In January, Candice appeared at New Year's Revolution in the first ever Bra and Panties Gauntlet match, where she was eliminated by Maria. After winning a number one contender's Diva battle royal on Raw, Candice got her first singles WWE Women's Championship match, but lost to then-champion Trish Stratus on February 27. After the match, Candice slapped Wilson, blaming her, in storyline, for the loss. Vince's Devils later broke up when Wilson became a fan favorite after Candice and Victoria turned on her during Candice's Playboy cover unveiling. The feud led to a match at WrestleMania 22 in which both Playboy cover girls competed in a Playboy Pillow Fight. At the event, Candice was defeated by Wilson. After the event, the feud continued sporadically in backstage segments where Candice was depicted as Vince McMahon's "sex slave." On the June 12, 2006 episode of Raw, Candice was defeated by Torrie in the first ever Wet and Wild Match, a wrestling match involving water balloons and squirt guns, in which the winner of the match would be featured on the cover of the WWE 2006 Summer Special magazine. On the July 11 episode of ECW on SciFi, the evil Candice appeared as a dance partner for Kelly Kelly during that evening's Kelly's Exposé ''segment.'' Despite her partnership with innocent fan favorite Kelly Kelly, Candice appeared as a seductive heel and flirted with Kelly in a backstage segment before their performance. Singles Competition and Women's Champion (2006-2007) On the July 17 edition of Raw, Candice was the Special Guest Referee during a tag team match of Stratus and Wilson against Victoria and Mickie James. James entered the match without being tagged in, so Candice threw her out of the ring. Afterwards, Victoria tried to clothesline Candice, but she ducked out of the way, allowing Stratus to perform a Stratusfaction for the victory. As a result of her participation in the match, Candice became a fan favorite. On the Raw following Unforgiven, Candice won a match against Lita. The next week, in her second match against Lita, Candice was pinned after she was speared by guest referee Edge, in the first round of the WWE Women's Championship tournament, which was made after Stratus had retired when she became champion. On the November 27 edition of Raw, during the Diva battle royal, Candice suffered a legitimate broken nose when Victoria kicked her in the face. She had surgery on November 30 to repair her deviated septum. Candice returned at New Year's Revolution on January 7, when she went to the ring with Maria to fight off Melina as she tried to interfere in the Women's Championship match between then-champion Mickie James and Victoria. Candice made her in-ring return on January 22 when she and Mickie James defeated Victoria and Melina in a tag team match with Candice scoring the pinfall. Candice then resumed her feud with Melina, who claimed in her blogs that no Playboy cover model was capable of defeating her in the ring. Candice took offense to this, which led to a Bra and Panties match between the two, which she lost. During this time, Candice began training on her off-days to improve her in-ring abilities. Weeks later, Candice was beginning to receive more air-time and higher profile matches, and she won tag matches that pitted her with Mickie James against Victoria and Melina. She also picked up several wins against the latter two in singles matches, which culminated at One Night Stand, where Candice defeated Melina in the first ever match held in a swimming pool full of pudding. Candice defeated Melina to capture her first WWE Women's Championship at Vengeance, becoming the first ever WWE Diva Search contestant to win the Women's Title. Candice retained her title against Melina in a rematch at The Great American Bash as well as debuting a new finisher called the Candywrapper. Beth Phoenix became the #1 Contender for the Women's Championship after winning a Divas battle royal at SummerSlam. At the Unforgiven pay-per-view, however, Candice successfully retained her title in their match by countering one of Phoenix's moves with a crucifix pin. Their feud continued when Phoenix pinned Candice during a non-title mixed tag team match on Raw on September 24. At No Mercy on October 7, Candice dropped the title to the evil Phoenix, ending her reign as Women's Champion. On October 22, Candice legitimately cracked her clavicle during her rematch for the Women's Championship against Phoenix in a two out of three falls match; Phoenix pushed herself into the ropes, causing Candice to fall off of the turnbuckle onto her groin necessitating a rushed finish and putting out her of action for 14 weeks. Injuries and Release (2008–2009) Candice made her on-screen return on the February 18 edition of Raw, distracting Beth Phoenix during a match with Maria. She returned to in-ring action on March 17, teaming up with Maria to defeat Jillian Hall and Victoria. During the match, Candice injured her left shoulder by tearing the scar tissue over her previously broken left clavicle. Unlike her previous injury, Candice broke her clavicle in four separate places, in essence, shattering it. As a result, Candice was replaced by Ashley for her scheduled match at WrestleMania XXIV. On March 23, Candice underwent successful surgery on her re-broken clavicle. On the September 1 edition of Raw, Candice made her in-ring return match teaming up with Kelly Kelly and Mickie James to defeat Jillian Hall, Katie Lea Burchill and Beth Phoenix, with Candice pinning Phoenix. Candice received a push upon her return as she was named the #1 Contender for the Women's Championship, but lost to Beth Phoenix at No Mercy. Over the next weeks, Candice began turning villainous in house shows, but later in 2009, she was released from her contract, abandoning any plans for Candice to turn into a villainess once again. Independent circuit In October 2017, it was announced that Candice's retirement match would take place at House of Hardcore 36 in her native Wisconsin. At the event on December 2, Candice faced off against former Vince's Devils cohort Lisa Marie Varon, with the two friends hugging before their match. Candice showed concern for Varon's apparent injury, but at that moment, Varon turned heel and attacked Candice. Candice went on to defeat the evil Varon with a DDT. Return to WWE Candice returned to WWE at the Raw Reunion on July 22, 2019 in a backstage segment with Melina, Naomi, and 24/7 Champion Kelly Kelly. In the segment, Candice congratulated Kelly for winning the title, but after Melina revealed herself as a referee, Candice turned heel by attacking Kelly and later defeating her to become the new 24/7 Champion, and the second ever female champion, ending Kelly's reign at 39 minutes. Just 24 seconds later, the evil Candice lost the title via submission to WWE Hall of Famer Alundra Blayze.